“Koi wa Ameagari no You ni”: An Innocent & Orthodox Love Story Manga

Manga works based on“love” as the main theme and published in Japan may be roughly divided into two groups.

One group may deal with the issue of sex frankly and includes radical content.The other group may emphasize the importance of spiritual connection over physical connection.

This time we are introducing “Koi wa Ameagari no yoni (Love is like just after the rain)”, a representative work in the latter group.

Synopsis

“Akira Tachibana” is a high school girl, and she was once the top athlete in the women’s track and field club at her school.

But she suffered a severe injury during a race. Having been forced to give up on athletics completely, she was at the bottom of despair.

When Akira was lamenting in her despair, one day she dropped by at “Café Restaurant Garden”.

The manager of the restaurant, “Masami Kondo”, recognizes Akira being sunken in despair and tries to talk to her.

The conversation becomes a turning point for Akira and she regains hope in life. And she starts fall in love with Masami, who has rescued her out of despair.

As Akira’s feeling toward Masami grows stronger, she decides to work part-time at Café Restaurant Garden, where Masami works.

Then Akira confesses her love to Masami.

Akira Tachibana is a high school student and 17 years old.

Masami Kondo is divorced and 45 years old.

Thus love story of the two begins and their ages are so apart that they could be a parent and child.

Characters

1. Akira Tachibana

She is a high school sophomore at age 17, and the main character of this story.

She is a beautiful girl with shiny black hair, but reserved and not good at expressing her emotions.

At the beginning of the story, she is too overwhelmed by her feeling to Masami Kondo that she cannot even carry small talk with him. Thus he misunderstands her for disliking him.

But after confessing her feelings to him, she starts approaching Masami rather proactively.

She harbors vague regret and bitterness about her leaving the track and field club due to her injury.

For this reason she has been consciously avoiding contact with the club members.

2. Masami Kondo

He is the man that Akira Tachibana adores.

He is a self-acknowledged dull old man at the age of 45, and a hired manager of Café Restaurant Garden, which is a branch of a chain restaurant.

He doesn’t appear to be overly concerned about how he looks, and his hairstyle is barely above bed head. He is divorced and currently living in an apartment with his son.

He is not particularly good as a manager, bowing to customer complaints every day.

Other employees of the restaurant rate him as neither good nor bad.

When he was in college, he had a dream to be a novelist, and some of his college friends succeeded in becoming famous novelists.

As for Akira Tachibana’s love, he is hesitant considering the age difference, and her feelings run his life.

Analysis

This work was published in a magazine for young male readers, but the content is a platonic love story, which may resonate more with young girls.

The drawing style is similar to what is commonly seen in shojo manga (manga for girls), yet drawing lines are pretty sharp.

The story describes gestures, feelings and episodes eloquently and they remind readers of memories of first love.

The content may not be very realistic as it’s a story between a high school girl and dull middle-aged man with an age difference of 28 years.

But the large age difference prevents them from building up relationship smoothly, and it gives readers a precarious sense of balance.

In addition, when readers continue reading while keeping objective perspective to the couple’s feelings, their respective regrets reveal themselves.

Masami Kondo gave up his dream in the past and regrets it, and Akira Tachibana, her lingering attachment for track and field.

They even seem trying to fill the emptiness with romance.

Readers of this story are bound to become anxious to know to what end this love is going to play out.

The main character Akira’s innocent feelings for her first love are adorable and description of her feelings and episodes will attract readers, as many of us might have shared similar experiences in the past.

Masami is a mature 45 year old, and readers at a similar age can identify with him closely, sharing his thoughts and feelings.

There are also classmates of Akira who are interested in her and other characters who plot to wreck Akira’s relationship with Masami. The story appears to evolve in a deeper confusion from this point on.

About the author

It has been over 40 years of reading manga in the deep world of manga.
Japan’s manga has an endlessly wide variety of genres.
I will be recommending special manga for you to read from such infinite amount of works.

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